Trigger Warning: Real World Politics

S1E1 – Welcome to 2026

Chapter 1
A Long-Awaited Epilogue

Kelly knelt before her young daughter, Liz, to help her finish getting dressed.  Liz, whose full name was Elizabeth, was named after Kelly’s grandmother Elizabeth “Lizzie” Anderson.   Lizzie passed away a couple of days earlier.  She died from a heart attack while carrying a bag of groceries into her apartment.  Her husband Ira had been gone for several years by then.   Liz, who had just turned five years old last month, needed help buttoning her dress in the back, and putting on her white tights, and fastening her black shoes. 

Kelly stood up, straightened her own black dress, and said, “There you go, Liz, your great-grandmother Lizzie would be so proud of you.   I know you are going to miss her.  Do you understand where we are going today?”

Liz answered quietly, “Mommy said we were going to be with the people that loved Granny Lizzie.  That we were going to share how much we loved her and how we will miss her.”

Kelly said, “That’s right.  Your cousins Ken and Jennifer will be there with Uncle Brian and Aunt Theresa.  All four of your grandparents will also be there.   It’s going to be a lot of people.  Some you know, and many that you do not.   If you find yourself getting sad or upset, come to Mommy or me, or any of your grandparents, okay?  It is okay if you feel like crying, and it’s also okay if you don’t.”

Liz said, “Okay.”

Julie came in and grabbed Kelly and Liz’s hands and said, “Liz, honey, if you have any questions, Momma and I will be right there.  Are we all ready to go?”

---

Viewings were scheduled from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.   They arrived at the funeral home about an hour early, to meet up with Kelly’s parents and to help.  Julie’s parents were also there to help keep watch on Liz and her emotions.

As they entered the funeral home, they saw that there was a room to the left and a room to the right of the entryway.   A sign in the foyer said, “Elizabeth (Lizzie) Anderson” and pointed to the rooms on the left.

They walked in; the room was made up of two parts, an inner and outer room. They could see that the casket was set up at the far wall, in the inner room. Just to the left of the door from the foyer in the outer room, there was a table with a guest book to sign.    

They walked up to Julie’s mom, Shelly, and after hugs were given all around, Julie pulled out one of Liz’s favorite books from her bag and said, “Mom, can you take Liz into the outer room, and sit with her, and maybe read to her?”

Shelly took Liz’s hand and said, “Liz, would you like that?  Mommy and Momma need to go meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson.   You and I will be right out here.”

Kelly and Julie both gave Liz a hug and a kiss, and Shelly and Liz went over into a corner of the outer room and took two chairs.

They walked into the inner room, where they saw that there were many flower arrangements surrounding the casket from friends and family across the country.  They walked over to Kelly’s parents, Kristine and Richard.  After hugs were exchanged, Kelly asked, “What can we do to help?”

Kristine pointed to a box on a chair near a set of free-standing easels, and said, “Can you go through the pictures, and pick out some and put them out on the easels, and some more on the tables next to them?”

Kelly said, “Of course, just let me have a moment with Grandma.”

She and Julie went over to the casket.   Kelly looked at her grandmother, tears flowing from her eyes, as she said quietly, “Grandma, thank you for being there for me at my lowest moment.   Thank you for accepting me when I was rejected so harshly at first. You quickly welcomed me as your granddaughter and never looked back.   I’m going to miss you terribly.”  Kelly’s emotions caught up with her and Julie put her arm around her to hold her.  

Julie led Kelly over to the box and gave her a moment to recover.   Once Kelly had her emotions in check, they began sorting through the box of memories.   They found several pictures from Ira and Lizzie’s wedding, then they chose a few from when her father and her Aunt Sally and Aunt Jessica had been little.   They found Lizzie’s high school yearbook photo.  They chose many candid shots of her with her kids, as they grew up, with Kelly and her cousins, Tom, Billy, and Emily.   The one that they cherished most of all was one of Lizzie holding Liz when she was only a few months old, up in the air, with such a huge smile.   She had been so happy that Liz had been named for her.

They took the pictures and made a collage, the older pictures together on the leftmost easel, and the newer ones on the one to its right.   They took the other photo albums, and put them on the table, where guests could look through them.

They had just finished when Kelly’s cousin Tom arrived.  When Tom was a child, he was raised in a strongly conservative evangelical church.   In fact, he had outed Kelly to the school she was attending and set into motion the events that led to Kelly becoming Kelly full-time.   After an incident in which his brother Billy and their cousin Emily had been lost in the woods, he had a life-altering moment when his pastor struck Billy for defending Kelly.  He and his mother turned their backs on Reverend Tripard and were introduced to Minister Goodman.  

Working with Minister Goodman, he had eventually found his way into the Progressive Christian church, and he was now a minister of a church that is fully inclusive.

Tom walked over to Kelly and Julie, and while he was giving them both hugs, he said, “Hello Kelly. Hi, Julie.   How are you holding up?”

Kelly said, “I’m managing. Tom, I know that Grandma Lizzie was so proud of you.  She practically glowed when you took over for Minister Goodman at Christ Congregational, and I know she would be very happy that you will be leading her services tomorrow.   How is Mary?  Is she here?”

Tom looked thoughtful as he responded, “Thank you, Kelly.   I’ve come a long way from the person who was completely estranged from her and Grandpa Ira.   I have you to thank for bringing us back together, and for teaching me the meaning of God’s love.”  He shook his head and then said, “Mary is good; she will be here for the later session.”

Tom took his leave and walked over to Kelly’s parents to discuss the plans for his blessing during both of tonight’s viewings, and tomorrow’s service.

Kelly’s Aunt Sally and cousin Emily were the next to come into the room.  They went straight over to Kelly’s parents.   Kelly and Julie walked over to join them.   They were just finishing their greetings and hugs, as they arrived and the hugging started all over again.

After saying hello to her Aunt Sally, Kelly turned to Emily and asked her, “Emily, how are you?  How is the school year going?  How many students are you working with this year?”

Emily was now a fully grown twenty-five-year-old woman.  She was a teacher, working in the grade school special education department in the school system that Kelly and Julie had attended.   She replied, “It’s going well.  I have eight students this year.”

While Kelly and Julie were talking to her about her students, their Aunt Jessica and cousin Billy came in and joined them.   Emily asked Billy, “Hey, how are you?  Your senior year at the university this year, right?”

Billy said, “Yes, just a few more months.  Uncle Richard helped to get me a paid internship at his old firm in the accounting department.  I start as soon as I graduate.”

Shortly, the guests started to arrive, so the family set up in a receiving line to speak with them as they came in.   For the earlier session, most of the people to arrive were older friends of Grandma Lizzie, since most people were still at work.   Julie excused herself to go check on Liz.   Kelly remained and politely thanked each of the guests as they expressed their condolences.

About halfway through the early session, Kelly looked up and saw Meghan.  She grabbed her by the hand and stepped out of the line to welcome her and said, “Meghan, how are you, little sis!  Thank you so much for coming!  When did you get in?”

Meghan had spent a couple of school years living with the Andersons during the 2008 recession.   She had stayed with them so that she could remain in the advanced program at their high school, after her parents had to move back into her grandmother’s house in a town that did not have a similar program.  Meghan had taken full advantage of the opportunity, and went on to an advanced degree in biomedical engineering, and was working in Seattle.

Meghan hugged Kelly and said, “Only about an hour ago.   I came straight here from the airport.   Of course I came. We are family, big sis.   Your Grandma Lizzie always treated me like one of her own.” 

Kelly asked, “Did you see Julie on your way in?”

Meghan replied, “Yes, and Liz is so grown up!   It’s been a couple of years since I was back home.” 

Kelly smiled. “Yes, it goes so fast.   How long are you here for?”

Meghan answered, “I took the rest of the week off, heading home on Sunday.   So, we will have time to catch up, if you have time.   Let me go, check in with your parents, and the others.”

Kelly walked with Meghan back to the line and took her right over to her parents.   Her mom cried out and hugged her as soon as she saw her, “Meghan!  Oh my, thank you for coming from so far away.  Richard, look, Meghan is here!”

Richard excused himself from the person he was talking with to give Meghan a big hug. 

Kristine asked, “In between this session and the later viewing, the family are all going to go get dinner as a group. Would you be able to join us?”

Meghan said, “If it isn’t an imposition?”

Kristine said, “Meghan, you are family, you have never been an imposition.”

Meghan thanked her and then said, “Let me let you get back to your other guests, but I will be happy to go with you all.”

Kelly and her parents got back to greeting the other guests.   Pockets of conversation and memories were being shared throughout both rooms.

About 30 minutes before the session was ending, Tom stood up and said, “We would all like to thank everyone for coming this afternoon.   The service for Grandma Lizzie will be tomorrow morning at ten at the Christ Congregational Church on Elm Drive.   You are all invited to join us for the service, and to join the procession to the cemetery.”

“Let us pray. Lord God, Almighty Father, we thank you for the fellowship of our friends and family as we celebrate the life of Elizabeth Anderson, as you welcome her into your kingdom.   We ask for strength as we mourn her passing, to take solace in the sure and certain knowledge that in your mercy, she has been taken from the darkness of death and into the dawn of new life.   Amen.”

---

The family met at a local restaurant that had reserved a private room for their early dinner.  It was only a few minutes from the funeral home.  

Kelly and Julie sat with Liz in between them.  Julie’s mom had kept her company through the initial viewing. Meghan had helped as well, and mostly Liz had been okay. But she had lots of people she did not really know stop by, and that had her a little overstimulated.   Yet she was quiet now. 

Kelly asked her, “Liz, are you okay?  Is there anything you want to ask about?”

Liz quietly asked, “I didn’t get to see Granny Lizzie to say goodbye.   I heard people talking about going in and saying goodbye.   You and Mommy were in the other room most of the time with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson, and the family.”

Kelly asked her, “Liz, you know that Grandma Lizzie has died?  You know what that means?”

Liz replied, “Yes.   Mommy told me it means she can’t be here with us anymore.   She said her soul had left her body and gone to heaven.  She can look down at us, but we can’t see or hear her.” Liz looked confused, “So how are people saying goodbye to her?”

Julie answered, “What remains of her here on earth, her body, is in the other room.   It can be helpful for people to see her, and either think or quietly speak to her body, to focus on how much we love her, so that her spirit can hear us up in heaven.   But you don’t have to do it that way; you can do it right here, she will always be a part of you.”

Liz softly asked, “Can I see her?”

Julie looked at Kelly, and Kelly said, “If you want to, we will take a moment before the guests arrive for the next viewing, and Mommy and I will go in with you.  You can take as long as you want to say goodbye.”

Through the rest of the meal, family shared memories as they ate, mostly happy stories that brought laughter and some tears.  

Kelly and Julie excused themselves, telling Kristine that they were going to go back to give Liz some quiet time that she needed with Grandma Lizzie.

---

Kelly and Julie walked Liz up to the casket, and she stood on a stool that was provided for the younger mourners.   She held tightly onto her parents’ hands.  She looked on quietly and finally she said, “I’m sorry you had to leave us, Granny Lizzie.   I hope that it is nice up in heaven.   I love you, goodbye.”  With that, she started to cry a little, but she turned to her parents, and said, “Thank you.  I’m ready to go now.”

Kelly’s parents had returned and had waited just at the entry to the inner room, giving Liz the space she needed.  Liz ran to them and gave them big hugs while crying hard.   Kristine just held her tight, while Richard rubbed her back.  When she had mostly cried herself out, Kristine said, “Why don’t you and I go to the ladies’ room, and we can get cleaned up.   Your cousins Ken and Jennifer will be here shortly, I’m sure you will be happy to see them.”

Liz took her hand and walked with her to the ladies’ room.

Kelly sighed, “That was hard.”

Julie’s brother Brian and his wife, Theresa, along with their kids Ken and Jennifer came shortly after that.   They made the rounds of the family, to give their condolences.  Kristine and Liz came back, and Liz was excited to see Ken and Jennifer.   Theresa took over kid duty for a while.

Kelly joined the line with the family to greet the guests; Julie took on the task of moving through and making sure things were running smoothly. 

One of the first guests to arrive in the evening was Carol.   Carol had been in Kelly’s TransTeen Support group when they were in high school.   For a short time, Carol had been given into her father’s care by court order after a custody battle.  Her father refused to accept that Carol was a girl, and one night after catching her chatting online with some of the group, logged in as Carol, lost his temper and tried to beat her into submission.   Carol ended up with many broken bones and some serious bruises on her face.   This led to a reopening of the custody battle, and custody was awarded to her mother, who had accepted her as a transgender young woman.   Now, Carol worked with a trans rights group as an advocate for trans children.

While they were catching up, Kathy and Sue walked in.   Julie excused herself from the conversation she was in and went right over to them.   Kathy and Sue had been her best friends since before she and Kelly even met.  Kathy still lived locally, and in fact was now working with Michele.  Michele was Aunt Sally’s transgender friend, who was an expert in hair styling and a makeup artist.   Kathy always was obsessed with makeup, and after getting her certificates, was now working at Michele’s salon. 

Kathy and Steve had remained close until Steve tragically died in a car accident, when he was in college.

Michele showed up a bit later in the evening and after quick hellos to Kelly and Julie’s friends, spent most of the rest of the evening with Sally and Emily.

Sue had moved away to go to college and had ended up staying there after she graduated.  It was only a couple of hours away by car.  She had a degree in library science and was working as a librarian in a large city library.   She and John had drifted apart while they were in school.  

John was off in DC working as a contractor for NASA.  He had sent his condolences to Kelly via a video message, apologizing for not being able to get away to come.  

A few moments later, Kelly saw another former TransTeen Support group member.  State Senator Deb Rowan walked in, followed by a man in a dark suit whom Kelly did not know but he was looking around the room intently.  Kelly walked straight over to her and said, “Senator, thank you so much for coming.”  

The Senator smiled, pulling Kelly in for a hug. “Kelly, you do not have to call me Senator!  I slept over at your house. We had pillow fights, and we went to the lake house together, for goodness sake.  Of course I came.  Your grandmother was a special lady, and I adored her.”

She then took a moment to introduce her companion, “Kelly, this is Marcus Bennet; he is the head of my security team.”   

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Bennet.”

He nodded and then stepped back to where he could observe unobtrusively.

Kelly turned back to Deb and said, “Deb, I am so sorry you have to think about things like that these days.”

Deb shrugged and said, “It comes with the territory.   We receive a lot of hate mail, and of course death threats are not uncommon.   And I’m just a local state senator; I can’t imagine what Representative McBride gets.”

After another hug, Kelly led the Senator to walk over and greet all their old friends.  They spent most of the rest of the evening together, with Kelly excusing herself occasionally to greet some of the other guests.   Both Kelly and Julie made a point to check that Liz was doing okay with her cousins, and to thank Theresa for taking most of the kid duty. 

Around 7:15, Joan came rushing into the room and went straight to Kelly, “Sorry I am late. I had to wait for Audrey to get home, so she could take over kid duty, and her bus from the city was running late,” she said all out of breath.

Kelly said, “Whoa, Joan, catch your breath!   It’s not a problem; we understand, believe me.  We are just pleased you could make it.   How is Audrey?  And how is Lucas doing?”

“They are good.  Audrey is going crazy at work, and Lucas keeps me busy!”

Meghan came over. “Joan!  How are you? And congratulations, I have not seen you since you and Audrey got married last year.   How was becoming an instant parent?  I must believe you are a natural.”

Joan blushed, “It was kind of a dream come true. I always wanted to be a mom.  But it’s been a bit hard; Lucas has nightmares, worrying that Audrey or I will not come home one day.  It’s hard when you lose your mom so young, and then to have his father transition to Audrey on top of that. Every day he seems to be getting better.  I love being a stay-at-home mom.   I think I was born to it.” 

Deb joined in and said, “I know you were, hon.  How are your mom and dad?”

“Mom is out of this world happy; she has a grandchild to dote on, not to mention that she got to plan a wedding. She may have had trouble accepting me at first, but she and I have truly bonded as mother/daughter even more now. Oh, Kelly, Sam asked me to send her love.  She really wanted to be here, but she has 50 kids scheduled to show up in the morning to the grand opening of Camp Kaleidoscope.  Their school system doesn’t start until after labor day, so this is her trial run to work out the kinks for next summer.”

Kelly and Deb laughed, as Deb said, “I can’t believe she really did it.  Camp K, a trans-friendly summer camp.  I meant it as a joke way back in group.”

Kelly said, “Well, at least she did not call it Camp Kelly!”

Towards the end of the viewing hours, Tom stood up and basically repeated his earlier announcements and prayer.   People slowly worked their way out to their cars.   Kelly checked in with her parents to make sure they did not need anything from her, and then said goodnight so they could take Liz home and put her to bed.

---

Later that night, Kelly had a dream that she was back in high school.   She and Julie had just had their one major fight when Julie had felt rejected by Kelly, because Kelly was not ready to start with intimacy.   After a couple of weeks of not speaking to one another, Kelly had finally confronted Julie.

Kelly woke with a start and thought, “Wow, I haven’t thought about that in years.”

The memories came flying back.

She had stopped Julie as she was walking home and asked her to let her take her home.  She had just gotten her license.   She had told her she really needed to talk to her, and if she let her say her piece and she still did not want to talk to her, then she would never bother her again. 

Julie had reluctantly agreed and got in the car.  Kelly drove her to the place they had stopped at after the movie that night and where the fight had begun.   When Julie started to object, she said, “Please, just let me say this, then you can ask any questions you want, or just tell me to take you home, completely your call.”

Julie had nodded her agreement.

Kelly told Julie that she was sorry. She knew they were currently in different places: her puberty was mostly on hold, while Julie’s certainly was not. She explained that she had not been mad at Julie that night, at least not until Julie got so upset, and that she understood how frustrating it had to be. She apologized again for having tensed up that night. She had wanted to talk to Julie because she had decided she was ready to move to the next stage. She was trying to get her parents and doctors to allow her to take that next step, start hormone replacement, and come off the blockers.

Julie, after taking a moment to think, had then said, “And I just turned into the stereotypical octopus boyfriend and got pissed off that it wasn’t you.”  She then said, “I am embarrassed to admit it, but I resented that I was being the guy in our relationship. That it should have been you pressuring me, not the other way around. After all our time together, I was still thinking of you in that role, because when we started, you were living in both roles, and you were not living up to my expectations. I resented it. I knew I wasn’t being fair; I was just feeling so rejected.”

They had had a long talk, and came away from that with a new understanding, and had put it behind them.  

Kelly smiled and looked over at Julie lying asleep next to her. That was the closest they ever came to breaking up. They had a period while they were each at their respective colleges, during which they agreed to not hold each other to promises made in high school, and they both had seen a few other people during that time, but neither one of them had ever had anyone that they cared about the way they cared for each other.  

They married soon after graduating from college. Kelly had thought about stopping treatments long enough to have the ability to father a child with Julie, but for assorted reasons, they had decided that was not the right option for them. They focused on allowing Kelly to finish her transition, and then about five years ago, they had the opportunity to adopt Liz.    

Smiling at the thought, she closed her eyes and soon fell back to sleep.

---

The next day, they returned to the funeral home; Tom led a short prayer. Then Richard, Tom, Billy, and Ken Sanders took the four corners, while Kelly and Emily took the center, serving as pallbearers, as they carried the casket to the hearse. Everyone went to their cars, and joined the short procession of cars, following behind as they drove to Tom’s church, for the funeral service.

The parking lot was full of cars, but the family parked in spots that had been reserved for them.

Once there, the pallbearers assumed their positions once again and carried the casket to the position of honor at the front of the church, while the organist played a quiet hymn.

Tom made his way up to a seat by the lectern, and the others to their places in the first two rows of the seats at the front of the church. Kelly found her place next to Julie and Liz.  

Tom waited until about 10 minutes after the hour to allow late arrivals to find their seats, and then he began the service. He welcomed everyone, and began his eulogy talking about Grandma Lizzie, and how she had touched the lives of everyone she met. The choir led in her favorite hymns.   Tom invited Minister Goodman emeritus, who had been the Andersons’ faith leader for many years and was semi-retired to speak as well.  

Minister Goodman spoke of how Lizzie had always been there to help others and that she had raised her children and grandchildren to give back to the community.  He spoke of the love she had for her family.

When he finished, Tom led them in the traditional funeral prayers, and then he invited them to follow the procession to the cemetery, or to meet at Richard and Kristine’s house from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to join in fellowship and refreshments.

---

Later that evening, Kelly thought back to the rest of an exhausting day.  The funeral procession had at least sixty cars.   Tom had led them through some more prayers at the gravesite.  Lizzie was being laid to rest next to Grandpa Ira.   They had said goodbye and then went back to her parents’ house to get ready for the arrival of the guests.  

The reception had been catered by a local deli, so there was not a whole lot to do until people started to arrive.   Liz and her young cousins found a place in the basement to play together.  Kelly and Julie mingled but mostly hung out with their old friends from high school. 

Kelly was thankful when the day came to an end, and she and Julie could climb into bed.   They fell asleep within minutes.

 

Chapter 2

Several weeks later, Kelly’s mother Kristine, her Aunt Sally and Aunt Jessica began the process of sorting through the lifetime of possessions that Grandma Lizzie had accumulated in her home.   They asked Kelly and Emily to help them out.

When Kelly arrived, the coffee was already brewing, a plate of pastries was set out at the kitchen table, and everyone else was taking a moment to enjoy a time for quiet togetherness before digging into the task ahead of them.

“Good morning, Kelly, take a seat, grab some coffee and a pastry,” Kristine said, pointing at the open chair.

Kelly poured herself a cup, added sweetener and half-and-half, then sat at the table.  She sliced a small piece of apple Danish and took a small bite, savoring it before speaking.   “We have quite a bit of work ahead of us.  How do you think we should do this?”

Sally said, “I think we should start with the things that clearly need to be disposed of, or donation candidates.   For example, are there any clothing items that anyone is interested in saving?   If not, we can start to sort through to see what is in good enough shape to bag up for the church clothing drive, versus what just needs to be disposed of.” 

Kelly said, “Can we take that blue dress she loved so much, and have a teddy bear made from it? Liz would love it.”

Emily said, “That’s a great idea! Hell, I’d like one!”

Sally, Jessica and Kristine all nodded their agreement, and Sally said, “Okay, we will make sure to put that one aside.”

Kristine said, “Well, I guess we need to get started.  It won’t magically get done on its own.”

Jessica stood up and said, “I’ll take the kitchen.  There are some science experiments starting in the fridge.” 

Sally replied, “Kristine, why don’t you and I start in Mom’s room, and let Kelly and Emily and their young knees climb up to the attic? I know Mom has some boxes of clothes and things up there.” 

Kelly and Emily nodded agreement, and finishing their coffee, went to the attic access.  Kelly pulled the built-in attic ladder down from the ceiling, climbed up the ladder and flicked the lights on.  Emily followed right behind.  The attic was fairly roomy and had decent headroom in most of the space.  At the sides, the slant of the roof formed walls where they needed to be careful not to bang their heads.  The attic had a full floor.

“I’m glad I wore some old leggings, and one of my older flannel shirts today.   It’s going to be dusty up here,” Kelly stated as she looked around the attic.

“Yeah, that was a good call.”

“The boxes in that corner, look like clothes; why don’t we start there?”

Emily nodded and they took the first box off the pile.   As they began working through the boxes of clothes, Emily asked, “How is Liz handling the aftermath of the funeral?”

“She seems okay, maybe a bit more clingy than usual.   We had a good talk with her before we put her into bed that night.   She came in a bit later and needed cuddling.  We let her stay the night.  The next day she seemed quiet, but she did sleep in her own bed.”

“It’s a tough age for dealing with loss,” Emily nodded.

“Yeah, when Ira passed, she was only two, and really did not understand what was going on,” Kelly replied.

They continued to work on the boxes, quietly for a few moments, each one checking with the other occasionally as to which stack to place a piece of clothing with.   Emily grabbed the next box, and said, “Well this is not clothes, and it’s labeled, ‘Kelly’s Journey.’  Maybe you should take this one?”

Kelly looked startled, and said, “Oh, I wonder what all she put into that box?”

Emily said, “Let’s bring this one down to the dining room table to sort through.   We can bring down what we have done already.  We made some good progress.  I want to see this as well.”

A short time later, Kelly and Emily sat at the dining room table.  Kelly took a big breath and opened the box.  She found that it had several photo albums, labeled with the years covered, what appeared to be a journal, a DVD, and a few pieces of clothing, which were tagged.

Looking at one of the pieces of clothing, she saw it was a nice pair of boys’ khakis and a matching polo shirt.  There was a tag affixed to them that read, “Jason’s 15^th Birthday Gift – July 10^th, 2008.  Replaced with Kelly shopping trip.”

Kelly gasped, “I can’t believe she saved this… Why wouldn’t she have returned it?   That was not my best day, for certain.   Though by the end of it, she and Ira were completely on my side.”

As Emily nodded, Kristine and Jessica walked in.  Kristine said, “What’s that?  Is the attic finished already?”

Kelly said, “No, we made a good start, but we found this box, and we just needed to bring it down here to go through.”  She showed the box label to Kristine and Jessica.  

Jessica looked rather guilty as soon as she saw the tag on the outfit, and said, “Oh…  Kelly, I know that day was hard for you, and it was entirely my fault.  That was one of the most shameful days of my life.” 

Kelly reached over and gave her a hug, “Aunt Jessica, that day ultimately led me to where I am today.   Things happen for a reason, and you are here with me now.”

Sally walked in and asked, “What’s everybody looking at?”

Emily said, “Mom, Grandma put a box together and labeled it ‘Kelly’s Journey.’  We just started going through it.”

Sally said, “Oh… That should be interesting.”

Next, she grabbed the oldest photo album, starting July 2008.  Right on the first page, there was the infamous, scandalous photo of Kelly and Julie, in their bathing suits at the lake house.  Underneath it was labeled in Grandma Lizzie’s neat handwriting, “An inauspicious introduction to my granddaughter Kelly.  This was a very painful moment for all involved, but it is necessary to understand the rest of Kelly’s story.”   This was followed by pictures from the birthday party, including one that Kristine had taken of Kelly hugging Ira for the first time.

Jessica said, “We should have been there for that.   I know how much Tom has regretted sending that awful picture out to your classmates.”

Kelly smiled and said, “It’s only awful because of its intent, Aunt Jessica; actually we looked pretty good considering.   It was very early in my transition.  Of course, the expression of a caught rabbit is not my best look.  But it is the first picture of me as Kelly.”

As they continued to look through the album, they came upon a newspaper clipping from the hometown paper.   It was coverage of a contentious Board of Education meeting held just before the start of the 2008-2009 school year.   Kelly read the article out loud.

Jefferson, August 18, 2008

Controversy at the August Board of Education Meeting

Last night the Board of Education had to move its normal monthly meeting to the Jefferson Regional High School auditorium, when it became known that a transgender student would be enrolled as a freshman this year.  A letter to the editor published in this publication earlier this month written by “Angry Parent” decried that this was happening. Concerned parents crowded the auditorium demanding answers.  

Board President Lewis opened the session, and the board suspended the normal meeting agenda to address the topic that those gathered had attended to comment on.  He then began by saying that state law is very clear on the rights of the student to attend, and that the student has met the legal requirements under state law.

He also addressed one of the principal concerns, the bathroom and locker room issue, and indicated that the student and their parents had agreed that she would use the nurse’s office bathroom.  He then opened the comment section, announcing that speakers would be given a maximum of five minutes each, and that they would need to sign up to be recognized.

Karen Jones was the first speaker; she indicated that allowing a 15-year-old male student to pretend to be a female was actually child abuse and that child services should be called in to take this child away from his parents.  She said that the legislature must have been crazy to pass such a law.  She was followed by several other parents expressing similar objections.

After the meeting, this reporter spoke with Mrs. Jones, asking if anything she had heard changed her mind.  She said, “No.  I know the room quieted down after Mr. Feinberg’s testimony, but really, all it tells me is that his son Chris needed psychiatric help, and that his refusal to acknowledge that is what led to his death.”

Mrs. Shelly Sanders spoke in defense of the student, whom she named as Kelly Anderson, pointing out that she and her husband are known to be very conservative.  But having met with Kelly and her family, they have learned that most transgender children do not grow out of it, and that the psychologists and doctors that they were working with had made it clear that this was the best treatment for kids like Kelly.

The meeting continued on with parents from both sides lodging their comments.  Then Mr. John Feinberg took to the podium.  He told of the tragic story of his son Chris, who had killed himself.  He revealed publicly for the first time that Chris was also transgender, and that his refusal to accept his son had led his son to take his life.  He stressed that the Andersons were able to do what he had not been able to do, and that he would regret it for the rest of his life.

After Mr. Feinberg, the room grew silent.  Only one other parent chose to speak after that, and his remarks were taken as a threat by the board, and he was admonished; he left, but his testimony was forwarded to the police for further review.

The board then asked Mrs. Kristine Anderson to speak on behalf of her family and daughter.  She said she had a lot of statistics about why they were supporting Kelly in her transition, but that if Mr. Feinberg’s testimony did not sway people, nothing she could say would.  She reiterated that state law protected Kelly, and asked the community to act like adults and be civil to her daughter.

The board adjourned the meeting, and Kelly was allowed to enroll at Jefferson Regional High School.

Kelly took a moment, then she said, “We should have fought for bathroom and locker room access back then.   We have seen how damaging forcing them into the wrong bathroom or requiring only a specific bathroom can be.   It immediately ‘others’ them.   Also, while in my school, the nurse was always there, today, in many schools, sometimes that is not the case.”

Kristine said, “We did the best we could.   It sounded reasonable at the time. We were fighting to get you into the school, and we did not know what we did not know.”

Emily said, “You and the others from the TransTeens group paved the way in our state for so many that came later.  It was pretty much a non-issue for years.  It just became accepted,” as she held Kristine’s hand.   Then her expression turned serious as she added, “Unfortunately, even in my short time teaching, we have gone from where if a child told us they were trans and wanted us to use their preferred name and pronouns, we were expected to do so, and if they told us they did not want their parents to know because they were afraid, we were to protect the child.  We still have no laws on the books in our state to make that illegal, but as you know, there are petitions for ballot initiatives, and our local school board meetings make this one look tame.   The Board of Education election campaigns are brutal.”

Kristine added, “Not to mention attempts by our federal government…”

Kelly said, “We have had ten years of being bombarded with millions of dollars of ads, vilifying trans people, with practically nothing responding to them.  On the one hand we had much more visibility, with celebrities out there, we had years of I am Jazz, and that was a big help, but the backlash has been incredible.  In 2016, North Carolina passed a bathroom bill, and was heavily boycotted.  Ten years later, and we have states that have made it a felony to use the right bathroom, and nothing has been done to stop it.  That is an insane turnaround.”

She paused, and then picked it up again, “Texas tried to pass a bathroom bill, and the Republicans figured out that bathrooms were not a winning issue.”

Jessica was reading over the article, and Kristine nodded.

Emily said, “Then they stumbled onto sports.”

Kristine replied, “Don’t get me started about sports…  Lia Thomas wins one race, and suddenly trans people are taking over women’s sports, and women’s opportunities.  It doesn’t matter that she did not even hold the record; Katie Ledecky holds the college record in that race, and several other women have had better times than Lia.”

Emily said, “Yup!”

Kristine said heatedly, “Then Riley Gaines ties with Lia for fifth place… Not first, second or third, fifth!   Riley should get on her knees and thank Lia; nobody would have ever heard of her, if Lia had not been in that race.   Now she makes a very good living, because she came in fifth place with her!”

Kristine looked at them all, sighed and said, “Sorry, you hit my hot button.  Didn’t mean to climb up on my soapbox.”

Kelly said, “If you hadn’t, I would have.  But we have had this discussion before.”

Sally added, “They always want to say that Lia was a mediocre male swimmer, and became a top female swimmer, but it is not true.   Before she took HRT, she was a top male swimmer; after taking it she dropped significantly in the rankings, but they compare her final male season, against her first female season, and people just believe it.”

Shaking her head, she continued, “Why? Because even though there is plenty of evidence that trans women are not dominating any sport, it sounds reasonable.  They found their damned wedge issue.”

Jessica said, “I’m almost afraid to see what else we are going to find in here.”

Kristine answered ruefully, “I think I got that out of my system for now.”

Emily said, “No, it’s important; it is absolutely affecting my students.   There is a correlation between my autistic students and transgender students.  So, they are hearing these ads, and it is worrying them, not only for the ones that are both, but for the others who worry about them.”

Kelly said, “I have a meeting with Carol and Deb next week to discuss these very issues.”

Emily said, “Please keep me up to date on what you find out, and how I can help.”

Jessica and Kristine both agreed.

Kelly smiled as she turned the page in the photo album and saw a picture of her and Julie, dressed as Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner for Halloween her freshman year, holding the award for most outrageous costume.  

Emily laughed and said, “Oh, what a great costume, I don’t remember it, though.”

Jessica said, “I did not appreciate it at the time; I was outside the school protesting, Halloween, and you.  But yeah, that was classic.”

Then there were several family photos from Thanksgiving 2008.  Kelly remembered it as being the first time she was welcomed as one of the Anderson women.

Then the next page held an article from the school newspaper, the Jefferson Weekly, with the heading “Transgendered Kids,” by Kirsten Carlin. 

Kelly said, “Oh my, how language has changed.   Kirsten would be vilified for that title today, but that was just what we were called in 2008.   This certainly set off a firestorm; that hit job by Ben O’Dale was devastating.”

Jessica said, “I am so sorry I put you through that, Kelly.  Tom and I were not the ones that brought that article to Reverend Tripard, because Tom went to a different school, but there were a few of our congregants that did go there.”

Kelly said, “Jessica, it doesn’t really matter now who did, and you and Tom were acting from a place of love, based on what you knew from your church.  I am just happy you were both able to escape the teachings of that man.  Mom, did you ever regret giving Kirsten permission to write that article?”

Kristine looked thoughtful, then said, “There were certainly moments where it made things hard, and I was furious the night that God-damned-motherfucker Ben O’Dale broadcast that hate-filled commentary.  But ultimately, it led to our meeting Beth Ann.  She has been such a wonderful ally over the years.”

Emily, Jessica and Kelly looked at Kristine with a bit of surprise.

Kristine looked a bit bashful, and said, “I know, I don’t swear very often, but I don’t have any better words to describe that … person.”

Kelly smiled, “I know, Mom, believe me, I feel very much the same, and yes, Beth Ann is fantastic, and is still out there making a difference.”

Jessica said, “I was very happy to sit with her, after we reconciled, to talk about my road back from Tripard’s cult.”

Kelly reached over and touched her hand, and Jessica grabbed and gave it a squeeze.

They continued going through the photo albums, stopping occasionally to smile over memories.  When they finished, Kelly reached over for the DVD, and saw it was labeled “BNN Official Report.”  Jessica blanched, and said, “Tom and I were awful in this.  She showed just how ridiculous our position was.”

Kelly said, “We don’t need to watch it.  I had a complete meltdown when we watched it, and I don’t think I am up to this journal tonight.  Does anyone want to take it home?  I’m going to need some time before I am going to be able to work my way through that.”

Kristine said, “Let me take them both, I will keep the DVD, and I will read through the journal and see what’s in there, and can give you a summary.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Sally started to pack things back in the box. “It’s getting kind of late, let’s call it a night; this will take time to finish.  We got rid of the most important things; the science experiments are all out at the curb for garbage tomorrow.”

With that, they locked up and went home.

Chapter 3

Kelly and Carol sat in the outer office waiting to be called in to meet with State Senator Rowan.  Her assistant said, “She will be out in a few moments; her current meeting is running long.”

A few moments later, the door opened, and after saying “Thank you for your time, Senator,” the visitors left the office.  Deb came out and said, “Kelly and Carol!” She came over and gave them both hugs.  She then said, “Why don’t we go grab some lunch?”

Kelly and Carol nodded their approval.

About fifteen minutes later, they were seated at a small restaurant near the state legislative building, in a quiet corner near the back of the room. 

Once they placed their order, Deb said, “I suspect we are going to want to discuss some campaign issues, and that is not technically allowed in my office.”

Carol nodded. “Yeah, we are obviously concerned about the upcoming election.  We have historically been a progressive state.  Even when we were all in school together, state law protected us here.  But we are seeing the signs throughout the country that make us concerned we might be about to take a big step backward.”

Kelly chimed in and said, “If Peter DeLuca wins in November, he will absolutely target trans people. He is promising it. If he wins, his coattails might just give them the state legislature.”

Deb nodded. “It’s a real concern.  Polling is not clear on where this is going to go.  That said, it does show that trans and other culture war issues are at the bottom of people’s minds right now.  The economy and the war and their effect on gas and food prices are the big issues, at least so far.”

Carol replied, “I really appreciate that Governor Montgomery has stood strong on these issues.  Her response in the debate last week, where she stood up for her transgender constituents against the onslaught of attacks and misinformation, was great to see, especially as we are seeing other Democrats walking back from support, and even a few that are actively campaigning on anti-trans positions.”

Deb said, “We have been getting inundated with messages from the center-left think tanks.  From my perspective, they have completely misread the results from 2024.   Yes, the Republicans spent millions of dollars on ads targeting trans support: ‘Kamala is for they/them, not you.’ They do not want to understand that it was more about the economy, and the war in Gaza.  We came off as being unsympathetic to the average family being hurt by inflation.  It did not matter that the United States was recovering from the recession much more quickly than any of the other major Western nations, and that things were improving.  Trump was out there saying he could fix it, and shouting about tariffs, and far too many people just did not understand that tariffs are taxes on American consumers, not on the country supplying the products.”

Kelly nodded and added, “Exactly.  And if you look at some of the very specific state races, look at what happened with Zooey Zephyr, who, even after having been censured and prevented from being on the floor of the Montana legislature, won handily.  SJ Howell was the first non-binary person elected in Montana.  Montana is not the most progressive of states.”

Carol said, “Not to mention Danica Roem won in Virginia in 2023.  Aime Wichtendahl won in Iowa of all places.   And of course, Sarah McBride became the first member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Delaware.  Admittedly Delaware is very similar politically to our state, and we re-elected you in 2024!” 

They paused their conversation as their meals were delivered.

As they dug into their food, Deb put down her sandwich and said, “All of the above is true.   I think that Laura is going to hang on and beat DeLuca, because the people that voted for the Republicans last time, because they were going to make prices come down, have seen that the tariffs and everything else that they have done, caused exactly the opposite.  But we cannot rest on that; we need to do everything we can between now and November 3^rd to get out the vote, and to make sure people understand the stakes.”

Kelly said, “I’ve been doing some of that already.  We have been talking about it in the parents’ group that I’m leading for TransTeen, but I will be doing more over the next few weeks.”

Carol added, “And I’ve been working with my clients on it as well.”

Deb said, “That’s great! I will ask my campaign manager to keep you up to date on some of the key races and events that your folks can help with.  I may not be running this year, but I’m out there knocking on doors and going to fundraisers. Whatever I can do to help.”

Kelly took a sip of her soda and said, “Thanks, I can work with that.”

Carol put down her fork and said, “Okay, that is the legislative side, but now we need to discuss the far more dangerous issue: these damned ballot initiatives.   Public Question 1, they say, protects girls by banning trans people from participating in sports with their friends. But hidden in it is a requirement that exposes every girl to a highly invasive test, not just the ones that are suspected of being transgender.   Public Question 2 bundles a ban on gender-affirming care for all minors, which includes puberty blockers, HRT, and even social transition, with a sneaky introduction of an abortion ban.   The ballot initiative from 2024 that tried to ban abortion lost when 80% of the voters voted it down.”

Kelly said, “We need an ad like the one that is running in Texas and Ohio, with the Republican that just won his election, hiding in the bathroom stall, and then an unsuspecting girl comes in and screams when she sees him.  He says, ‘I’m your Republican Congressman. Now that we’re in charge, I’m checking to make sure there are no trans people in the wrong bathroom.’”

Deb nodded, “I’ve seen that ad.  That’s being run by Progress Action Fund.  Yes, a version of that could work, especially on Question 1.  It is such a creepy position they have taken.  I can’t work with Super PACs and coordinate such a message, but you can.   Just don’t tell me what you are doing on it.”

Kelly said with a wink, “Do what?  Don’t worry, we will not get you in trouble.  In any case, we need to get out the message about what these are really going to do, especially the buried abortion ban.”

Carol said, “I think I have some connections I can talk to.”

Deb looked at her watch. “I could sit here and talk with you two all day, but I’m going to have to wrap this up and get back for my next meeting.”

Kelly and Carol acknowledged her and caught the eye of the waitress to bring their checks. Soon they stood up and hugged each other as they thanked Deb for her help.

Chapter 4

Kelly looked around the room at the parents in the support group she led, as they were gathering for the start of the session.   She saw the worried faces as they were talking about their fears from the upcoming election.

At 7:00 p.m., she spoke and said, “Good evening, all, shall we get started?”

It took a few moments, but eventually everyone took their seats and settled down.  Kelly said, “Before we dive into the topic that seems to be on everyone’s minds, let’s begin with going around the room, and tell us something good that has happened with your kiddos in the past week, and if there is anything which you need support on.” She nodded to the woman on her left, “Beverly, let’s start with you, if that’s alright?” 

Beverly nodded and said, “As you know, my parents have been struggling with Tessa’s transition.”  The other parents nodded in agreement.  “A couple of days ago, I got a package from my mom.  It had a long letter, the gist of which was that she apologized for how they had been struggling.  She may not understand it all, but she has been watching the commercials stoking the fears and knowing that her … ‘granddaughter’ was supposed to be one of these scary trans people they keep talking about. Mom said she just can’t accept that.  She said that she knew I would never try to hurt her.   The package contained several gifts, along with a gift receipt.   She said that she was guessing sizes, and really was not sure what Tessa would like, but she thought that it was time she let her granddaughter know she is loved.  She and Dad want to come visit next month, after the election.”

Kelly watched the faces of the other parents as Beverly was telling her story. In some she saw flashes of hope, others were truly touched. There were at least a few sniffles working their way around the circle.  A couple of the parents that had particularly hard times with their extended family were showing dueling reactions of jealousy and doubt. 

Beverly added, “It’s a welcome first step.  I need to exchange a couple of things, which are just a bit too tight for Tessa; she’s grown since they last saw her, and then I will have her model them, and will take some pictures and send them to Mom and give her a call.  We will see where it leads.”

Kelly smiled and said, “Thank you, Beverly.  Does anyone have anything to add or comment on about Beverly’s good news?”

Jonathan, one of the parents Kelly noted had been skeptical, said, “Beverly, this is welcome news, but I caution you against getting your hopes up too far.   My parents strung us along for months, saying they loved Val, no matter what.  But as soon as Val’s story got out amongst their friends, they threw her to the wolves.  I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Some of the other parents nodded, while others looked like he had hit a nerve. Kelly stepped in. “Jonathan’s right to be cautious, because sometimes during these fragile steps forward, public pressure from friends can push otherwise good people to do some truly awful things, but Beverly, it is impossible to make progress without taking some careful, considered risks.  I think your plan to do a phone call or perhaps maybe a video call, so you can see facial expressions as well, is a good one.  Especially ahead of a potential in-person visit, where it will be harder to protect Tessa.”

Kelly then went through the circle to give them each an opportunity to share something with the group.  About three quarters of the way through, they came to Jean. 

Jean said, “I’ve been talking to people at our church.   Mostly, the congregation has been reasonably supportive of Piper.  We have had the support of our Pastor, Evelyn.   Overall, the denomination is mixed, but locally it is up to the pastor and the congregation.   There have been some squabbles ever since Pastor Evelyn said she was affirming.   That said, this is our home, we have been going here since Jimmy and I moved here right after we got married.”

She paused, looking at everyone, then focused on Kelly, who gave her a nod of reassurance. “All of these ads are spooking them though.  Boys in girls’ sports, and locker rooms.   I was talking to a group during Fellowship Hour after church this past weekend.  One of them said, ‘I support people’s rights to be themselves, but boys playing against girls is not right, it’s just a fairness issue.’  A couple of others were agreeing.”

Kelly noticed several of the parents looking aggravated, and just shaking their heads.

Jean continued, “I said, ‘Seriously.  You all know Piper.  She has been on blockers for just over a year.   Joe, your daughter is in her class. Can you honestly say that my Piper has any kind of advantage over her?  Theresa must be at least three inches taller, and way stronger.   Piper is a year behind her peers in puberty.  That puts her at a disadvantage, not an advantage. Even when she goes off blockers, and starts HRT, she will never go through the kind of male puberty that might give her an advantage.  And Rebecca, Sally is one of Piper’s best friends.  Has she ever done anything that would make you really worry about her hurting Sally?  They hang out all the time, and Piper just wants to be able to be on the team with her best friend.  It’s part of growing up, it’s about friendship, teamwork, and community.”

She looked around again and said, “Of course, they could not just leave it there, Joseph said, ‘well that’s Piper, not all trans girls have started as early as she has, many have gone fully through male puberty before they start any of that.’   So, I said, ‘That’s true Joe, but first off HRT makes major changes over time, to strength, body weight distribution and more, but even if that were not the case in many instances, doesn’t that mean that a blanket ban is overkill?  You know full well that Piper and those like her are not a threat to girls’ sports, but this would ban them as well, instead of a more reasonable policy of taking it case by case.  Worse, combined with Public Question 2, they want to prevent people like Piper from even getting the treatment she needs, so that she would be forced to go through male puberty.   Theresa, you remember what Piper was like before she was allowed to start on the blockers?  She was depressed and angry and fell behind in school.   Putting her on blockers changed that almost immediately, she became herself again.  Outgoing, friendly, and doing great in school.”

She took another moment, before wrapping up: “Then I said, I’m going to make one last point, and then leave you all to think about it.  You all know Bobby Jo.  She has been blessed by God with a great talent, she is one of the strongest, most athletic girls in the school.  She is stronger than a lot of the boys in their class.  She has been on your girls’ teams, but also on opposing teams as they have grown up.  I never heard anyone say that she should not be allowed to compete, because of her natural advantages.   Nobody has said they were afraid for their kids because they were playing against her.  Why is that?  Think about that.”

 

There was silence as Jean finished, the group processing what she had said. Kelly let the moment linger before saying, “Thank you, Jean. That was powerful advocacy.”

Then she looked around, “Anyone else have anything they want to add?”

Shirley said, “I went door knocking this weekend for Governor Montgomery, and my local candidate for representative.”

Kelly said, “Wonderful, you want to tell us about that?  I bet there are some here that would be interested in learning more about what’s involved.”

Several others expressed their interest.

Shirley said, “So we met up at the parking lot of a convenience store over on 5^th and Main.  The campaign manager handed us a bunch of literature, and some talking points to use.  Then they helped us to download MiniVAN, which is an app that tells us what doors to knock on.   The list they selected were mostly Democrats, with a few independents that lean Democratic.  I took a group of about 60 doors, this was my first time doing it, so I had a friend with me.  We basically just went to each door in turn, rang the doorbell, or knocked.  Most of them no one answered, so we would just leave some literature by the door.  Not allowed to put them in the mailbox, that’s a federal offense apparently.  Basically, we were asking them if we had their support.   A few responded with none of your business (sometimes a bit more strongly worded) Most would just say yes, and I would thank them, and move on.   A few would ask some questions, if it was on the talking points I would answer it, otherwise point them to the candidate’s contact information.  Some just wanted to talk and tell me everything that they were worried about, so I listened, took notes and put that into the MiniVAN app.  The funniest was the guy who said, ‘I hate fucking Republicans…’   I said, ‘I hate them too!’  He invited me in for coffee.  I thanked him but said I had a lot of doors left to knock on.”

She took a moment and added, “It was exhausting, but I’m glad I did it.”

Kelly said, “Thanks Shirley. Anyone else?”

Barry spoke up, “I have done a couple of sessions of phone banking.   Kind of similar, but no walking, thank goodness.  Most people don’t answer, but I got some very rude responses of course, but very similar to the kinds of things that Shirley talked about.   I think people are more likely to curse you out when you are not right there in your face, though.   I haven’t door knocked in the last couple of elections, because I’m just not up to the walking, but either things have gotten worse, or people just don’t care when they can’t see you.   But I also get some positive responses, and some that want more information.  I’m going to do some more, next weekend.”

Finally, it was Stephanie’s turn. She said, “I have a total phobia about cold calling someone.  I don’t even like to call a catalog number or a pizza place to place an order, and they are hoping to get your call.  Door knocking and phone calls are just not something I could bring myself to do.  But I did do some text banking recently.    They get you signed into this app, they assign a big block of texts to send.  You basically hit a button and it sends out hundreds of text messages, and then when you get the replies, you read them, record their answers, and hit a reply, typically choosing one of the canned responses, though you can write your own.  Then over the next couple of days, you will get notified, if someone follows up, and you can log in and reply then.”

After everyone was finished, Kelly said, “It’s good to hear that so many of you are actively doing what you can.   I want to call your attention to two events that are coming up, the first is on Saturday the 17^th, at 2:00 p.m., over at the Lakeside Arena, a rally for Governor Montgomery.   Tickets are still available, if anyone is interested in going as a group, I plan on attending, let me know.   The second one is a protest in the park across the street from the headquarters for the organization that is pushing the two ballot initiatives, that is going to be on the 24^th. I am going to try to get over there for that as well. That starts at 10:00 a.m., if anyone wants to meet me there.”

Several of the parents indicated that they were interested.

Kelly said, “Okay, great session today, I’ll be here for another 30 minutes if anyone needs to speak with me a bit more privately.  Otherwise, see you all in 2 weeks.”

---

Carol sat at Kelly’s kitchen table, with her paperwork spread before her.   Kelly came over to hand her a cup of coffee and put down a plate of cookies and waited for Carol to start.

Carol said, “Oh thank you, coffee is exactly what I need right now,” as she took a moment to savor the smell and then her first sip.

She sat back in her chair, put the cup down and said, “I’ve been meeting with several of the statewide PACs and at least one of the nationwide PACs that are interested in helping us with an ad buy.  Based on the successful ad that Progress Action Fund is running, I did speak with them, but they aren’t in a position to help us with this project. So, we’ll be moving ahead independently, with an ad inspired by theirs.”

Kelly nodded.

Carol said, “But we have enough support locally, and the national group, Individual Rights First, will make up the difference.   I’ve got a local company that can put the ad together, and we have the general theme.  It will be set in the gym, a line of girls with their moms or dads, but will be set up like an induction center like in the 1960’s.  At the table will be a stern Republican who will stamp “PENDING MEDICAL INSPECTION” on the girl at the front of the line. The mom steps in front of her, and looks the politician in the eye and says, ‘You are not touching my daughter.’  Then ending on a statement about Public Question 1.”

 Kelly said, “I like it, what do we need to do still to make it happen?” 

Carol said, “It’s mostly underway, I’ve got the approvals, and the ad is being filmed on Monday.  We have already reached out to the major markets for the state.”

Kelly replied, “Perfect!”

---

Carol, Kelly and Julie sat in front of the television in Kelly’s living room.  As an ad finished, Carol said, “Okay, here we go.”

The scene begins with a wide shot of a long line of diverse girls, with moms and dads standing with them.  The room might be a gym, but it looks clinical like an image of a 1960s induction center advertisement. There are state troopers lining the walls of the room. It pans to the desk at the front of the line, where a man in an expensive suit is sitting, facing the first girl in the line.  On either side of the desk are two more state troopers.  He is looking over the paperwork, which includes her birth certificate, clearly showing female.  He then takes the application and stamps it with “PENDING MEDICAL INSPECTION.”

The girl’s mother steps in front of her daughter and stares the man in the eye and says, “You are not touching my daughter!”  The state troopers’ faces show warning to her.

The image fades to black, holds, and then text shows: “Public Question 1 subjects over 50,000 young girls to invasive state physicals just to play school sports. Keep politicians away from our daughters. Vote NO on Question 1.”  In small print at the bottom of the screen is displayed, “Paid for by Individual Rights First, not affiliated with any candidate.”

The ad fades to black and changed to the BNN election coverage panel.  The panel host, Evelyn Sterling, said, “Welcome back to our pre-election coverage. What you just saw is a new ad opposing Public Question 1, a measure concerning transgender participation in school sports that has become one of the most closely watched ballot questions in this election.   Let me introduce you to our panel.   Staying with us from our last segment is Carter Hays, former GOP Campaign Strategist, and Vicky Reyes, Senior Polling and Elections Analyst, and joining us are Tariq Washington, Democratic Field Operations Consultant, and Beth Ann Williams, host of Perspective with Beth Ann Williams here on BNN.”

Evelyn said, “After 2024, when anti-trans ads mostly went unchallenged by the progressive community, we are seeing pushback on these claims.  The ad was created by ‘Individual Rights First’ and is taking the tack that this public question does not only affect trans girls, but all girls.  So, Carter, what’s your take on the ad?”

Carter said, “It’s effective. It does not try to make the claim that trans girls don’t have an advantage, which may be true, but doesn’t resonate or feel true.  But it instead says, are we willing to have our daughters pay the price for keeping them out.   In fact, the ad doesn’t mention trans people at all.”

Tariq said, “I think showing the birth certificate was particularly effective.”

Carter said, “Yes, it’s not quite subliminal, but it makes it very clear that the birth certificate is not enough under this public question.”

Evelyn said, “Beth Ann, what are your thoughts?”

Beth Ann said, “It’s kind of nice to see quite frankly.   For the past 10 years, millions of dollars of ads have been framing the question and painting trans girls especially as predators, and voyeurs, and here we see that it is not trans people violating the privacy of girls, it’s the anti-trans people willing to sacrifice our girls to stop the few trans girls that are actually playing.  Carter is right, they never mention trans people in this ad, and I think it’s smart.   Contrast that to the Democrats that are running scared and ceding this issue to the Republicans.   It’s going to be very interesting to see how this election unfolds in two weeks.”

Tariq replied, “This is an issue that the Democratic Party is somewhat split on.  There is a strong centrist argument that feels that 2024 showed that this issue resonates and is a losing message for Democrats, while the other side points out that there are much more likely reasons that 2024 went the way it did, and that 2025 shows that it was not the major concern.”

Evelyn said, “Let’s go to Vicky, what are the polls saying?”

Vicky said, “It's very close. The week before the ad was released, the measure was polling at 55% for passage and 40% against, with 5% undecided. Our latest poll has it at 49% for passage, 46% against, and 5% undecided. That's a significant movement, although the difference is within the poll's margin of error. We can't say the ad alone caused that shift, but the timing is certainly interesting.”

Evelyn said, “What does the polling say on the other trans-related Public Question, number 2?”

Vicky said, “It’s interesting, this is a very progressive state; they have strong protections for trans rights with medical rights clearly protected.  So, the public was more willing to consider the sports question than to interfer with parental rights on deciding what is right for their children.   The polling there has been consistently around 57% against the question 40% for, and 3% unsure.”

Beth Ann added, “That is very consistent with the history of the anti-trans movement.  They started out trying to make bathroom bills the wedge issue, back in 2016, and that was a failure; it was not effective in bringing about the laws they wanted.   Sports was the first trans issue that resonated with the electorate, because as Carter said, facts don’t matter, it feels true at an intuitive level, and so it resonates.”

Evelyn said, “And with that we are out of time, thank you to Carter, Vicky, Tariq and Beth Ann for your analysis.   Next up, see what President Trump said today, that has people outraged, after we come back from a quick commercial break.”

Kelly turned off the television.

Carol said, “Well, what do you think?”

Kelly said, “First off, I love the ad. Great job.  Will it be running up to election day?”

Carol said, “Yes, on local affiliates’ broadcast of football, and the local news stations, as well as on the major cable carriers.”

Julie said, “Wow, that is a significant ad buy, Kelly. I think we need to make a big donation to Individual Rights First.   I know we have made donations to them in the past, but it’s great to see them putting that money to good use!”

Kelly agreed, “Definitely will do.”  Turning to Carol, “I think BNN did a decent job of analyzing it.  It sounds like it might have moved the needle, and that’s the best we can ask.  Hopefully it will get us over the hump in striking this down, at least this year.”

Carol said, “One step at a time.”

Julie said, “Okay, let’s go sit down to dinner.”

They walked into the kitchen, and put out the pizza they had ordered, and put the ad discussion behind them for now.

 

Chapter 5

November 3, 2026.

Julie sat in Liz’s bedroom with Liz on the end of her bed and said, “Liz, there are going to be quite a few people here tonight.  Grandma Anderson is going to be here to specifically keep you company.”

Liz asked, “Why are people coming tonight?”

Julie said, “You have probably heard us talking over the past month or so about the election. Do you know what an election is?”

Liz was thoughtful: “I’m not sure…”         

Julie said, “Okay, you know when your teacher is trying to decide between two books for story time, and she asks everyone to raise their hands for each of the books, and the book with the most hands is what the class has chosen to read next?”

Liz said, “Oh sure. We picked Where the Wild Things Are yesterday; I was happy about that.”

Julie smiled. “That was a good choice, one of my favorites.   Anyway, that is an election; raising your hand is how you voted, and the winner is the one with the most votes.  Does that make sense?”

Liz nodded. “Yes.”

Julie asked, “Now you know about rules.  There are rules at school, and of course your Mama and I have rules for home as well.  So, you know all about that.”

Liz said, “Oh, yes…  Gotta follow the rules or you get in trouble.”

Julie continued and said, “Right. Adults have elections and rules too.  Adults call rules laws, and the people that make the rules are chosen every couple of years with an election. Today is Election Day for America.  It’s the day when the adults vote to decide who will be responsible for making our rules.”

Liz scrunched her face as she digested that.

Julie said, “You also know what a bully is, I know.”

Liz, looking angry, said, “Yes, Ben is a bully; he hurt my friend Sherry last week, pushed her off the slide!”

Julie nodded. “Exactly.  And I bet that some of your classmates think that makes Ben popular.”

Liz frowned. “Yes, Mary and Bobby thought it was funny.”

Julie said, “Okay, that happens with adults sometimes as well.   And this year there are several things we are voting on that would bully people like your Mama.”

Liz said, “Oh no!”

Julie hugged her and said, “So tonight we will be hosting friends and family that are concerned about those issues possibly winning the election, and hoping that the other adults in the state make the right choices.  That means we will be watching the news shows that will give us the results as they are counted.”

Liz said, “I will pray that the bullies don’t win.” 

Julie hugged her again and said, “Thank you.”

Liz said, “Can I go now?”

Julie said, “Yes.”  Liz ran out, found her Mama and held her tight. Sniffling, she said, “I love you Mama, I’m praying that the bullies don’t win tonight.”

Kelly bent down and hugged her and said, “Thank you, Liz. I love you too.  Don’t worry, we will deal with whatever comes, and I will always be here for you, and with Mom, we will protect you.”

Kristine came over and hugged Kelly and Liz; eventually Liz pulled back.

Kristine asked, “Liz, why don’t we go down to the family room, and pick out some games we can play tonight?” Then she whispered, “I think we have some cool snacks downstairs, I have it from trusted sources, there is both pizza and ice cream down there.”

Liz smiled, and said, “Okay.”

Julie came down the stairs, gave Kelly a hug, and said, “Okay, let’s get everything set up before the guests start arriving.”

In the kitchen, she pulled the warm trays out of the oven and put them on the kitchen island counter, into the wire chafing racks, and lit the Sterno cans underneath, leaving the foil over the trays.  Meanwhile, Kelly set up a variety of chips, dips, and platters of cookies and brownies.  She had a cooler with sodas and beer, a big pitcher of iced tea, and a bottle each of red and white wine.  She also checked the two bottles of champagne in the fridge that she hoped they would be opening later that evening.

Julie put out the fancy plasticware and nice disposable plates.

The doorbell rang. Kelly answered it and it was Carol; as Kelly was about to close the door, Emily walked up.   They moved to the kitchen for now, so that they could help themselves to drinks and some snacks.

Carol said, “Hard to believe we are here, but I think we did everything we could.”

Emily nodded. “Carol, that ad you championed was fantastic.  If that public question loses, I believe that will have made a huge difference.”

Carol said, “Thank you.”

The doorbell rang again, and this time it was Joan.  She joined them in the kitchen and said, “Audrey is staying home with Lucas. Oh, good wine! I haven’t had a glass of wine in weeks.  Nice to have an adult night!”

Kelly’s phone vibrated, and she saw a text, which she read to the others: “It’s Meghan; she wants to video chat; let me grab my iPad.”  A few minutes later they all gathered around the iPad to say hello to Meghan. 

Meghan said, “Hey guys, sorry I can’t be there with you; I will be thinking of you all tonight.  We have our own important races here in Seattle.  We have our own ballot initiative here that is just as bad as the one there.  Carol, I have shared that ad you worked on, on all my social media.”

Carol said, “Thanks, I hope it helps there.”

The old friends then talked as friends do, and finally Meghan said, “I must go. I’m heading to a watch party in my local district, and I need to finish getting ready.  Love you all, and looking forward to coming home over Christmas; hopefully, we can all get together while I’m home.”

Julie took the foil off the trays, revealing Chicken Française, Chicken Wings, and Pasta Primavera, and said, “Help yourselves, ladies.”

The doorbell rang once again, and in walked Senator Rowan; she came in and gave everyone hugs.   Kelly said, “Thanks for coming by, Deb, I know you have some important commitments tonight.”

Deb responded, “Yeah I do, but I have some time before I have to head out to get there.”

Emily said, “Hello Senator!”

Deb said, “Emily, I’ve known you since you were a little girl. I think you can call me Deb.”

Emily said, “Thank you... Deb.   I wanted to tell you I was at the protest on the 24^th. It was so exciting when you showed up and inspirational when you got up and gave your speech.  I did not know you were going to be there.”

Deb said, “Yeah, that’s the nature of security these days. I avoid outdoor events for the most part, but showing up at a random time, unannounced is reasonably safe.”

Kelly said, “Em, Deb receives regular death threats. It’s sad, but the state of the world we live in.”

Emily said, “I’m so sorry, but thank you for the work you do.”

Carol asked, “Do you have any internal polling about what we should expect tonight?”

Deb said, “I think we are going to be good on Governor Montgomery, and I think we should hold onto the House and Senate, but it will be tighter than it was, and I would not bet the house on it.  The ballot initiatives are too close to call.”

Kelly said, “Well we will know in about six hours, give or take. Coverage starts in about thirty minutes, but it will be just talking about nothing as they kill time till the first results come in.”

They chatted for a while, after another ring of the doorbell, Kathy and Michele walked in.  Kathy said, “Hey everyone. Oh, Deb, did not expect to see you tonight!  Sorry we are late; we had a couple of late appointments that went long.”

A short time later Deb sighed and said, “I’m going to have to get going.  I would love to stay here with you all, there is nobody else I’d rather spend my evening with, I love you all.  I have to go to the state party watch party, it’s part of the job.”

A bit later Julie’s mother, Shelly arrived, and after hugs all around, she went down to give Kristine a break.  Kristine came on in and said, “Hi everyone, Kelly, Julie, Liz is doing fine, we played several games of Sorry! Pigged out on Pizza, had some ice cream, and watched The Little Mermaid.”

Julie said, “Thanks Mom.  It’s probably time to start heading into the living room.”

The gathering took their plates of food and drinks and found places to perch in the living room.  The main TV was already on the main state news station, with their election desk, and Kelly had set up a second screen that had BNN on silently on its election desk.

Kelly turned the volume up on the local news station.   The anchor said, “We have fifteen minutes until the polls close, we have quite a night ahead of us.   The Governor’s race is one to watch.  Governor Montgomery has been polling ahead of Peter DeLuca, but it is within the margin of error.  As for the legislature, we have 15 newcomers in this election between the House and the Senate. We had quite a few retirements, and we had some incumbents on both sides, who lost their primaries.”

Nora nodded, “That’s right, Rick.  Currently the Democrats have the trifecta, the Governor, the House with a four-vote margin, and the Senate they have by six.”

The sidebar on the screen showed the current state legislative splits:
House                   Democrats          62           Republicans                        58           Total 120             Dem +4

Senate                  Democrats          23           Republicans                        17           Total 40                Dem +6

Rick responded, “Yes, Nora, so tonight can make major changes to the control of this state.  Now let’s look at the federal level. Currently…”

The sidebar changed to show the current federal house and Senate splits:

House                   Democrats          8             Republicans                        5             Total 13                Dem +3

Senate                  Democrats          2             Not up for re-election in 2026

“… the Democrats have a three-seat advantage.  Every Representative is up for re-election every two years.   In the Senate the Democrats hold both seats, and 2026 does not have an election for Senate.”

 

Kelly said, “Okay, just a few more minutes until the polls close.   Everybody doing okay?”

Carol said, “My heart is racing.   All the work from the last couple of months, and we just don’t know what is going to happen.”

Rick said, “It is now 8 p.m. and the polls are officially closed, and we can now project our first state race of the night.  We project that Governor Laura Montgomery has defeated challenger Peter DeLuca, 67% to 23% with 32% in.”

The living room erupted with the collective exclamation of joy from the whole gang.

Carol said, “Oh my God, immediately? What does that mean?  They were supposed to be within the margin of error?”

The BNN screen showed an Election Alert. Kelly turned it up, and heard Evelyn Sterling saying, “… Governor Laura Montgomery holds on as Governor.”

Kelly muted BNN again.

Kelly said, “Well that is the first big win tonight.  That gives me some hope.”

Joan said, “That was amazing.”

Kathy nodded, “I can’t believe how fast that was.”

Michele said, “I have the state unofficial results website up on my iPad.  It refreshes every 3 minutes.  I’m keeping an eye on the ballot initiatives.”

As the group continued their discussion, watching the numbers shift across the bottom chyron bar, Emily interrupted, “Take a look at District 4: Congresswoman Cynthia Brooks is running behind David O’Connell.   Only 40% in, but that’s encouraging.”

Julie said, “She is awful, MAGA and a white supremacist.   I would love to see her get beat.”

Michele said, “First numbers are in for the ballot initiatives; Question 1 on the sports issue has a slight lead, while Question 2 on the gender-affirming care and abortion ban is running behind.”

Carol said, “Shit.”

Michele replied, “It’s still very early, only about 5% of the vote in.”

Kelly was watching the BNN screen and said, “Hey, take a look at that: Keisha Lance Bottoms is leading in Georgia of all places, 60% to 40% with 11.49% reporting.”

Emily said, “Hmm.   Congressional District 2, Congressman Art Pendelton is behind Dr. Mark Lin with  35% in.  All five Democratic incumbents are currently in the lead.”

Michele spoke up and said, “We’ve got some interesting things going on in the State House and Senate.  Very early yet, but we have at least six seats in the House where the Democrat is leading the incumbent representative and two seats where the Democrat is leading against the Republican taking over for the previous Republican.  And then there are four more that are practically a dead tie.  Similarly in the Senate, we have four Democrats leading in districts that would be a flip.   I took a quick look while waiting for the next refresh.”

A little while later, around 9:30 p.m., Kelly said, “Oh my God, they just called the governor’s race in Georgia for Keisha Lance Bottoms!   What the hell?  Is there something in the water out there?”

Julie said, “Wow, I would not have bet on that.”

Kelly said, “On top of that, Gina Hinojosa just took the lead over Greg Abbott in the Texas governor's race, and it’s a good-sized lead, and James Talarico has 56% versus Ken Paxton’s 43%.   I am getting very optimistic that this may be a very good night.”

Michele said, “A lot of exciting things, for sure, but Question 1 is now up around 52% to 48%, with 30% in.  Question 2 still has the “No” vote in the lead, about 54% to 46%.”

Carol said, “Damn it.   This is not good.”

Julie said, “I know that they have been preparing for this; there will be lawsuits, if it passes.  This state has an Equality Act in the state constitution that makes gender identity specifically a protected class for the purposes of determining discrimination.”

Carol replied, “I know, but it just sucks that there is so much hate out there.”

Kelly said, “Well let’s see how fast it gets repealed once they start to realize what it actually means for all of the girls, assuming it passes.”

The mood in the room definitely had shifted. They continued to talk but were feeling the weight of the concern for Question 1.

Michele continued to give updates.  Around 10:30, she said, “The local state House and Senate are getting even more interesting, we now have ten seats with comfortable leads to flip, and there are now eight more that are pretty much tied. If we got them all that would be a supermajority.   And the Senate now has four that would be a flip that are in the lead, with another two tied.  If we can get even four of them, we would have a supermajority in the Senate.”

Kelly said, “That would be quite a night.  What about the U.S. House races?  And what are the percentages for the state House and Senate?”

Michele said, “The state House districts are all around 60% in; the state Senate districts are closer to 55% in.   The U.S. House, we have all 8 of our existing representatives with comfortable leads, but we have two potential flips, with about 75% counted.”

Emily interrupted, “They just called Annie Andrews to win in South Carolina.”

Kelly said, “Well she was better than Darlene Graham would have been, but that ad Andrews released that said she was opposed to ‘Biological Men in Women’s Sports,’ and that she is against gender-affirming surgeries for minors, means I can’t get overly excited about her.”

Carol said, “Yeah, between her and Amy Acton, and several other key Democrats, including some iffy comments by Talarico, it is damned frustrating.”

As they were watching the screen with BNN, they saw a chyron come up which said, “Governor Abbott has called Gina Hinojosa to concede.”

Kelly turned up the volume, “… While we have not called the race yet, here at BNN, we have gotten multiple reports that Greg Abbott has conceded to Gina Hinojosa; that is a huge upset if it is confirmed.  And we have James Talarico with a commanding lead over Ken Paxton.  Hold on, I’m getting a call from the control room.  We can now project that James Talarico will win the Texas Senate race!”

Kelly muted the volume and said, “Texas?  Texas?  This is going to be a huge night for the Democrats.”

From the main TV they heard the election alert sound, Kelly turned the volume up a bit, and they listened to Rick say, “We can now call that the State Senate: the Democrats will have a supermajority.  We just called three more flipped seats, to go with the three from 20 minutes ago, to have a pickup of 6 seats.  They only needed four to reach twenty-seven seats, so they now have two more than the twenty-seven needed for the supermajority.”

Kelly looked at her phone which had vibrated on the table near her, and said, “Just got a text from Deb.  She wrote that things are going well overall, though she agrees some of the things we are seeing specifically on trans-related ballot initiatives are concerning.  But we also should note that we are seeing some exciting trans and non-binary candidates doing very well throughout the country.  DeShanna Neal, a non-binary state representative in Delaware, as well as Sarah McBride, both have been re-elected.  In Wisconsin, Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford won a seat in the Wisconsin Assembly.  Zooey Zephyr has been re-elected in Montana.  And we have some promising others, notably in Alabama, Allison Montgomery is in the lead for a House seat.”

Kelly sent a text back: “Thanks, that is some encouraging news, considering what’s going on with Question 1 here.”

Joan said, “Well it is definitely a bit of a mixed bag, but that is encouraging.”

Kelly’s phone vibrated again; she read out loud, “Oh and I think Marion Ellis is going to win her state House race here, based on numbers I’m getting from her campaign.”

Carol said, “Marion is fantastic, she will be great, fingers crossed for her!”

Emily spoke up, “They just called Gina Hinojosa, officially.”

Kristine said, “I still am struggling to get my head around Texas.”

Kelly said, “Me too, Mom.”

Joan added, “This whole night is pretty much better than I expected.  We knew the specific trans issues were going to be a challenge, but it still sucks to see it.”

Carol agreed.

Emily broke in, “They just called Adam Hamilton in the Kansas Senate race.  We need one more flip to get the Senate.”

Kelly said, “If you would have asked me what I thought the odds were that we could get the Senate even a month ago, I would have said that I did not think it was possible.”

Emily said, “Damn it.  They just called Josh Turek in Iowa.   And with that, they called that the Democrats will control the Senate.”

Kristine asked, “Why are you upset about him winning?”

Kelly answered, “Because he ran an ad saying that not only is he opposed to ‘men’ in women’s sports, but that he was opposed to federal dollars to go toward gender-affirming care, basically the Hyde Amendment for trans people.   That would affect Medicaid, Medicare, all of the ACA plans, and so on.  Now it won’t pass with the Democrats controlling the Senate, but he was the one Democrat I really wanted to lose.   Now that he won, the think tanks that said we had gone too far on trans rights, and encouraged Democrats to back away from trans issues will say, ‘See, you can win without trans people.’  It will come back to bite us.”

Kristine said, “Oh, that is awful.  I missed that one.”

The announcement alert pulled their attention back to the main screen again, as Kelly turned it up a bit, they heard Rick saying, “We can now call the Democrats will have a supermajority in the state House.”

Nora said, “That’s quite a swing; they needed to flip eighteen seats to reach a supermajority.”

Rick said, “We are pretty much seeing the tsunami here, as we have been seeing all over the country.  This has been an extraordinary night for the Democrats.”

Nora replied, “I think that might be the understatement of the year.”

Emily said, “Hey, I missed this earlier, but they apparently called the rest of our congressional delegation; we picked up two seats. It will be ten Democrats and only three Republicans starting in January.”

Kristine said, “That’s great, but I think I’m going to call it a night.  I’m going to go down and check on Shelly, I sure hope Liz is asleep!”

Kelly said, “Let me go with you, Mom.”

Kristine brought her plate and glass out to the kitchen, and said, “The food was really good; I probably gained 5 pounds; I kept coming out and grabbing a bit more to nosh on.”

Kelly replied, “We all did.  Nervous eating.   I know that it hasn’t been a perfect night, but I do think we have something to celebrate. Do you want a glass of champagne before you go?”

Kristine said, “No, I’m exhausted.  Save me a glass for tomorrow.”

They walked down the stairs to the family room, and found Liz with her head in Shelly’s lap, sleeping soundly.

Kelly said, “Shelly, we should have checked on you before.  I could have brought Liz up to bed.”

Shelly looked up from her Kindle and said, “Not necessary, I’ve enjoyed my time with Liz cuddling up to me.”

Kelly said, “Okay… but I really should bring her up.”

She picked up Liz, who stirred just a little bit. Kelly put Liz’s arms around her neck as Liz rested her head on her shoulder, and Kelly carried her up the stairs.   Shelly gathered her things, and she and Kristine followed.   Kelly laid her down on her bed and tucked her in.

She whispered to Shelly, “Thanks for getting her into her pajamas.  I’m sorry we have been so focused on the returns.”

Shelly said, “Don’t worry about it, that’s why Kristine and I were here tonight.  I would have asked for help if I needed it.”

Shelly bent over Liz, kissed her forehead and said quietly, “Sleep well my darling.”

Kristine then kissed Liz’s forehead as well and said, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite…”

Liz murmured, “Or anything else for that matter.”

Kristine smiled and said, “Family traditions passed on. Good job Kelly.”    

Shelly and Kristine poked their heads in the living room and said, “Good night, everyone. Get home safe.”

Julie asked if anyone wanted any more of the food or wanted any to take home. After getting the clearance, she and Kelly blew out the Sterno cans, and covered the trays with foil, and put them into the fridge.

Kelly then brought out one of the bottles of champagne, and said, “I know tonight has not been a perfect night, but I think we do have some things to celebrate, so let’s have at least a small glass to toast with.”

There was general agreement, and Kelly opened the bottle unceremoniously, poured small glasses for each of them, and raised her glass and said, “To progress, sometimes it comes in small steps.  We will continue the fight.”

Everyone drank the toast.

One by one, they each decided to call it a night, until it was just Julie, Kelly and Carol. 

Julie said, “I’m calling it a night as well.  Good night, Carol, if you want, the guest room is made up, rather than you heading home at whatever ungodly hour you two quit for the night.”

Carol said, “Thanks, I might just take you up on that.”

Kelly said, “Good night, hon; I will try not to wake you when I come up.”  She gave her a hug and a kiss.

Shortly, it was just Kelly and Carol.  They talked about the night and remembered some good times from when they had first met at the TransTeen group so many years before, and they kept an eye on the results on BNN.  The local news channel had gone back to regular programming shortly after calling the state house supermajority.

Right around 1:30 a.m., they listened as BNN called that the Democrats had taken control of the U.S. House.

They hugged in celebration, and then Kelly said, “I need to get some sleep. I have sessions tomorrow afternoon.”

Kelly offered Carol one of her clean nightshirts and gave her a clean towel, and got her set up in the guest room.  “If you need anything, you know where we keep things, just help yourself.”

Carol said, “Thanks, I’m good.  Good night, Kelly.”

Kelly said, “Good night.  See you in the morning.”

She closed the door behind her and went to bed.

 

Chapter 6

Kelly looked around the room at the group of parents, who attended the first meeting since the election earlier that week.   She could read the concern on the parents’ faces, so she asked, “How is everyone feeling?”  Shirley indicated she wanted to share.

Kelly said, “Go ahead, Shirley.”

Shirley said, “I’m kind of all over the place.   On the one hand, the candidate I canvassed for won, so I’m happy about that.  I am very happy that Governor Montgomery won and that we somehow flipped so many seats in the State House and the State Senate that we now have a supermajority in both.  But I am sickened that Question 1 won.  Fifty-four percent of the voters decided that they did not support our kids being able to play in sports, while Question 2 was so readily dispatched.”

Jonathan replied, “What would have happened with Question 2 if they had not tried to sneak the abortion ban in with it?  Voter polling does not give a clear answer.”

Stephanie said, “And yet Marion Ellis won; she flipped that seat.   It’s hard to figure out what people were thinking.”

Jean said, “I went to church on Sunday.   I had several people come over and tell me they were sorry for Piper.  Both Joe and Sally were amongst them, and they said they had voted against both questions.  But I overheard some other people, who I don’t think realized I was near, say that they voted for Question 1, but that they could not vote for Question 2 with the abortion ban.”

Beverly added, “My mom called.  She told me she and Dad both voted ‘no’, on both questions.  She was sorry that Tessa was going to have to deal with the fallout from Question 1.”

Kelly said, “Beverly, that’s actually nice to hear.   It sounds like they are moving towards accepting Tessa in concrete ways.”

Beverly said, “I cried when I got off the phone with her.”

Kelly noticed a few of the parents dabbing their eyes and said,  “I can imagine.”

Stephanie said, “So what do we do now?  We had some big wins, but Question 1 passed here, and we were not alone; similar measures passed in multiple states, several of them just as progressive as we are.  That is an ugly trend, because it means that we are losing support amongst Democrats and progressives, too.”

Kelly spoke up, “We continue the fight.  I know that there are several lawsuits already being filed against Question 1.   It appears to violate the Equality Act, for example.   And my contacts in the legislature say they are looking at ways to defang or repeal it.”

Jonathan said, “But are the Democrats going to back that?”

Kelly said, “This is where the fight to get to a supermajority mattered. They can pass legislation without having to cave in to the Republicans in the legislature.   But it might be close.   The question is, are they willing to put that at risk so quickly on an issue that was voted on by the people?  That said, this was a fifty-four percent election, not the eighty percent that the fearmongers kept claiming supported these bans.”

Barry spoke up, “So what does that mean practically for our kids?”

Kelly said, “If I had to guess, the legislature will wait to see what happens in the courts.  If an injunction comes quickly, they will table it for now, rather than take the political hit.  If it does not, they may wait until after the law takes effect in January and let the public find out what they really did to their daughters and then address it, after the expected backlash.  First by law, and then later in the term as a potential constitutional amendment.  In our state, Ballot Questions cannot amend the constitution; it requires a two-thirds majority of both houses to vote on it in two consecutive sessions.”

Barry replied, “So in the meantime, our kids will suffer.  June is already depressed because she is not going to be able to play with her friends.”

Kelly said, “Has she gotten any feedback from her friends?”

Barry replied, “Yeah, most of them are upset and called her to tell her it was not fair.  But there are a few that have been saying things like ‘Well, it’s not like you are actually a girl.’  Then there are some of her other teammates that are full-out cheering.”

Kelly said, “If you are okay with it, I will speak with Dr. Erika; I think she sees June.  I will make sure she knows that June is getting these kinds of hate reactions and is able to help her sort through them.”

Barry said, “Thank you, please.”

Kelly said, “And that is important for you all to be aware of; keep an eye on your kiddos, make sure to let them know you are here for them, and that if they need to talk they should, either to you, or in the teen group, or that we can get them individual help if they are not currently seeing someone individually.”

Kelly watched as each of the parents nodded in agreement, looking determined.

She then asked, “Does anyone have anything else to add for the group today?   If not, have a good week.  I will be here for another thirty minutes if any of you need to speak to me individually.”

She watched as everyone gathered their belongings and headed out continuing their discussion on the way.

---

Kelly, Carol, and Deb were sitting in a booth at the restaurant near Deb’s office.

Deb said, “Carol, thank you for all the work you did on the Question 1 ad.  I know it passed, but the internal polling I have showed it made a difference.”

Carol said, “Did it, though?  It doesn’t feel like it.”

Deb replied, “It did, there is a big difference between a fifty-four percent win and a sixty-five percent win.  It will make my job of convincing the legislature to repeal it possible, instead of D.O.A.”

Kelly said, “I have been making the same point to my parent groups over the past week and a half since the election.”

Deb asked, “How are they holding up?”

Kelly said, “They are struggling, quite frankly.  They know that things went fairly well for the country, but that trans people feel left out to a degree.  Would you be willing to have a few of the groups stop in to talk with you?”

Deb said, “Of course, I’ll have my office manager reach out to schedule with you.  I may be able to arrange to have them meet with a group of receptive legislators both in the Senate and the House. Would that work for your parents?  Informal for now, but building relationships we can leverage when we ultimately have hearings on how this law is affecting people.”

Kelly replied, “That would be perfect.”

The conversation drifted away from politics and into general life, as they finished up their lunch.  As they got up to leave, they exchanged hugs and went their separate ways.

---

Julie, looking around the kitchen table at Kelly and Liz, as they sat down to dinner, said, “Next week is Thanksgiving.   I’ve invited pretty much the whole extended family.”

Kelly said, “Good, I look forward to the holidays every year.  Going to miss Grandma Lizzie, though.”

Liz looked up and said, “She will always be with us.”

Julie smiled and said, “Yes, she will.”  Turning to Kelly, she asked, “How did the meeting with the parents and the legislators go today?”

Kelly said, “It was a good first meeting.   They got to express their concerns, talk about what their kids are already facing even before the law goes into effect.  Deb and her colleagues took them all seriously, took lots of notes.   They gave them direct contact numbers for their staff offices, so they can reach out if they need to, asking the parents to not share the numbers publicly.”

Julie asked, “Did you meet with the parents after to see what they took away from it?”

Kelly said, “Of course.  It was a bit quick, but we did a short recap after.  Basically the takeaways were that there are leaders who are prepared to listen and do care about what is happening to their kids.  They appreciated the contact information, and they will wait to see what comes of it.”

Julie said, “That’s fair.”

When they finished up dinner and cleaned up, Kelly asked, “Anyone up to a game of Uno?”

Liz said, “I am!”

Julie said, “Sounds fun, let me just get the dishwasher started.”

Kelly went and grabbed the cards.  

Sitting around the kitchen table, Kelly shuffled and dealt out the cards.

Play went around the table as they talked, laughed, and just enjoyed a game night together.  Kelly was down to one card, and after Julie went Liz played a Draw Four card and won the game.

Kelly sputtered and said, “Oh… you… Well played, Liz, well played!   Play again?”

They spent the rest of their evening in simple company.

Copyright (c) 2026. All Rights Reserved.